At the End of the Day
by SingerMe
Summary: At the end of the day, love is all that matters.


At The End of the Day

I don't own these characters. I just like to spend time with them. No other profit to be had.

EOTDEOTDEOTDEOTDEOTD

At the end of the day, she supposed it didn't matter who was right or who was wrong. She supposed her actions could be justified by even the most ardent of law and order folks. She was actually pretty sure that just about everyone that knew the two of them and all the circumstances would pat her on the back and tell her that she 'did the right thing'.

She sighed and dragged a hand through her completely disheveled hair. Maybe they were right. Maybe she did. It sure felt like it at the time. It was the only thing that had felt right in a long time, this thing that she had done. But now… Well, now she wasn't so sure of what was right and what was wrong except for him. Him being gone. Him being dead. THAT was wrong.

And at the end of the day, she supposed that was really all that mattered.

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It had been a really long day and a hot, muggy one at that. She'd worked tirelessly all day, taking few breaks. But she didn't complain. Every hour worked was just that much more money in her pocket and just one more hour she was able to push her thoughts of him aside in order to survive the day. It wasn't that she didn't want to think about him; it was just that it was hard to do so. His job was dangerous and when he was on the job, his life was in danger. That was a hard thing to deal with, knowing the man you loved could be killed at any moment.

He, of course, didn't see things the way she did. He saw it as a job that he had to be done and himself as the man to do it. When she voiced concerns over his safety, he was always quick to push her worries aside and tell her not to worry. "I know what I'm doing." He'd said that more than once. The trouble was, she knew he was good in his job and more than capable of handling it. But that didn't mean he would never get hurt or worse, killed, doing the job that he was good at.

Pushing a lock of hair behind her ear, she sighed and straightened her back. It was time to quit for the day. She'd worked hard all day and it was time to call it a day. Besides, if she was lucky and he kept his word, he should be by this evening to see her. She wanted nothing to distract her from that.

"Sam," she called to the bar tender. "I'm done for the night."

"Alright." He nodded at her.

Smiling at him in return, she turned and was heading for the doors, to look outside for him, when she heard gunshots. There was nothing that said it was him. Nothing to indicate that he was in any way connected to the shots she'd heard but her heart told her differently. Swallowing hard, she rushed to the door and looked out into the street. He was lying in the middle of it, a bloody, ragged hole in the middle of his chest. She was so horrified she could find no words as she rushed out and fell down to his side.

"Oh," she breathed as she pulled his head up and into her lap. "Oh, no, please…"

"It's… al… right." He managed as he put a hand up and gently caressed her cheek before death overtook him and he drew his last breath.

She knew nothing else that evening. She didn't remember Doc gently pulling her away and ordering Sam to take her back inside the saloon. She didn't remember seeing several men surround his body and gently lift him up and carry him away. She didn't see the pitying looks cast in her direction as she was led back inside. She saw nothing and remembered nothing except the sight of him in the middle of the road and the loving look he gave her before he died.

Over the next few days, she existed in a small world full of pain and anguish and thoughts of murder. His at first and then later the murder of the man who'd killed him. Oh, she knew who'd done it. She not only knew who the man was but she knew why he'd murdered the man she loved. And it wasn't an accident. No, it was no accident that he'd ended her life the same day as he ended the life of her heart. It was revenge, pure and simple.

Ellis Griffin was a vile, disgusting man who'd been after her since the first night he'd laid eyes on her. He had tried everything he could to get her to climb the stairs with him. She'd refused nicely at first and then more harshly. She finally resorted to threatening to take after him with a gun if he didn't leave her alone. But he ignored her wishes and threats and kept after her. He'd been warned by more than one person to leave her be, as she was taken, but Ellis refused to listen to them as well. He wanted her and he was determined to have her.

It had all come to a head a few nights before the murder. Ellis had come into town, as had become his practice, and set in on her. This night he was drunker and meaner than usual and she was beginning to fear that this night, Ellis would win. But he didn't.

He had already knocked out Sam and pushed away another who had come to her defense. Every order issued to him, to let her go was pushed away as well. But just as he was about to pull her upstairs, the person that everyone in town had come to think of as 'her man' showed up. In short order Ellis Griffin had been outdrawn and knocked flat and carried out of the saloon by stout men who ushered him to the jail for the night. She was always happy when he showed up but even more that night.

He assured her she was safe and that Ellis would never bother her again and she believed him. Looking back now, she realized that was the only time since she'd known him that she shouldn't have trusted his words. But she did and now he was dead. The man that her heart had beaten for, the man that held her very soul in his hands was dead. And she had settled her mind on revenge. Ellis Griffin was going to pay with his life for what he took from her.

Everyone that knew had been surprised when she came down those stairs at the Long Branch, dressed, coiffed and made up, with a smile as bright as the sun. Several asked her, carefully, how she felt and she answered them honestly. "I'll be alright." She told everyone. "I'm going to be fine."

No one knew of her plans and no one would until two nights later when she slipped down the back stairs of the saloon into the alley below. Though many people suspicioned that Ellis was the murderer, there had been no actual proof of it, so he was free and she knew exactly where to find him.

It hadn't been too hard to slip down to the stable and slip the mare out unseen. Moss was a deep sleeper. It also hadn't been difficult to ride out, unnoticed, through the moonlit countryside to the shack he called home.

He had been surprised when he opened his door to find her there. With a shudder, she could still remember the way his dark, slightly protruding eyes had raked her body as he held the door and ushered her in. It had been all she could do to keep from retching when she felt his hand on her back and heard a low chuckle coming from him.

But now, as she sat there in her jail cell, wondering what her fate would be, a ghost of a grin formed on her face as she remembered the shocked look on his face as she pulled the gun from her waist, where it had been hidden, and pointed it at him. The grin actually came to life for a second when she remembered the way he had had first ordered her to put the gun down and then begged for his life when he saw how very serious she was.

But the grin died and a stony expression replaced it as she remembered the way he'd clutched his chest and fell to the floor in front of her, blood coming from his mouth and a gurgling sound coming from his chest until he at last died. She'd never liked killing and violence and this was as violent as it could get. A man, no matter how despicable, was now dead at her hand.

Most anyone else would have left that shack, thrown away the gun and snuck back into town, sure they would never be connected to Ellis Griffin's murder. But she wasn't most anyone. She believed in the law, no matter what. Sighing deeply, she'd climbed back into the saddle and rode back to Dodge and turned herself in.

Now, here she was, waiting on a verdict from the judge. Her attorney, Tom Hardy, had argued that this was not premeditated murder, as it appeared to be, but temporary insanity, at the loss of a man she had loved so much. He had done a masterful job in arranging witnesses like Doc, who agreed that she was almost unhinged the night of the murder.

Of course, the prosecutor disagreed and pointed to her way of making a living, if nothing else, as a reason to distrust her and find her guilty. He'd also pointed out that as a shotgun rider for the stage, she shouldn't have been shocked at her lover's death. Though he hadn't been killed in his job, she had to know that he stood a good chance of it happening. By the time things were turned over to the jury, she had no idea as what her fate might be and wasn't so sure right then if she even cared. At the end of the day, it didn't matter. He was dead.

Matt stood near the door and looked into the cell at his prisoner. If she knew he was there, she gave no indication to it. She was in a world all her own. When the door opened, he turned to see Kitty coming in.

"How is she?" Kitty asked quietly. "She said anything?"

Matt shook his head, and closed the door between the office and the cells. "No, she just sits there and stares off into space. Has the judge come back in?"

It was Kitty's turn to shake her head. "No. I talked to Mr. Brady. He isn't sure if that's a good sign or not." Kitty moved over to the coffee pot, checked to make sure it wasn't empty and was hot and poured herself a cup before turning back to Matt. "You know, I sure hope they let her go on this. If there was ever a vile man, Ellis Griffin was one for sure. He harassed Julie constantly and whether you had proof of it or not, you know as well as I do that he killed Billy because of her."

Matt shrugged. "He probably did but I had no way of proving it and Julie killing Ellis for revenge was not the way to solve things."

Kitty pursed her lips for a moment. "Matt, can I ask you a question?"

He looked curiously at her. "What?"

"What would you have done if it had of been me, Ellis had killed? Would you just sit back and do nothing, knowing he would never pay for it because the law had no proof?"

Matt wanted to instantly say yes and tell her the law would eventually find a way to get him but he couldn't do it. As he thought about it, he realized there was no way on earth he could sit back and do nothing if someone hurt her. He dropped his head with no reply.

"I don't know about anyone else." Kitty stated when he didn't reply. "But there's no way I could do nothing and watch him get away scott free if he had of murdered you." She paused a moment when he looked up and at her. "I love you, Matt, as much as Julie loved Billy. I have to say, I think I just might do the same thing she did, if someone hurt you. I need you, Matt and I love you and at the end of the day, that is all that's important to me."

Matt pulled her into his arms, hugging her tight. "I love you too." He said just as the door opened and Chester came in. Quickly, Matt released Kitty and they both looked expectantly at the young man.

"Mr. Dillon, the judge says to bring Miss Julie down to the hotel now. He's done decided her case."

"Alright." Matt answered as he exchanged glances with Kitty, grabbed the keys, opened the door to the cells and went to claim the prisoner.

Late that night, Matt pulled Kitty tightly into his arms as he lay beside her in the big brass bed. Their lovemaking, as always, had been sweet and passionate and wild and everything they had both needed after a day like this. "You okay?" He looked down at her.

"Um hum." Kitty smiled up at him. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"Well," Matt shrugged. "After all, Julie was your employee and your friend. And I know you wanted her to not have to do any jail time at all."

Kitty nodded. "I admit, I really wanted the judge to let Julie go completely, but she seemed to be okay with how things turned out. I think more than anything, she's just glad it's over and is happy with the court's leniency."

Matt nodded. "I hope so. I mean, she won't hang and she won't spend the rest of her life behind bars. A sentence of 10 years is almost unheard of in these parts, for any crime, much less murder."

"Yeah, but she had a great lawyer." Kitty answered. "He really worked hard to keep her from hanging. And besides, her case was unusual. I really don't believe she was thinking clearly that night. All she could think of was Billy lying there dead and Ellis getting by with it. I said back it in the jail and I still believe it. I can't say I wouldn't have done the same thing under those circumstances."

Matt stiffened slightly, but no so slightly she didn't notice. Kitty pulled back with a puzzled expression on her face. "You surprised at that? Matt, you know how much I love you. Now, with my head clear and things calm, I wouldn't even contemplate doing something like that. But if someone killed you…" She stopped, taking a deep, calming breath. Even the thought of that happening hurt. "Matt, I don't know what I'd do to make the pain go away, if someone killed you. I just don't know."

"I guess no one knows how'd they react under those circumstances." Matt sighed. "But, somehow, I just can't imagine you killing anyone, Kitty." Matt quickly stopped her. "Kitty, murder is… well, it's a horrible thing and…"

"I don't think Julie looked at it like it was murder, Matt." Kitty sat up in bed, knowing this conversation had gone beyond bedroom talk. "When Julie killed Ellis Griffin, she did it out of anger and pain and probably revenge. Seriously, I think she probably thought of it as killing a mad dog."

"But he wasn't a mad dog, Kitty." Matt reminded her as he too sat up. "No matter how despicable he was, he was a human being and she had no right to take his life." Kitty dropped her head and Matt reached over, tilting her chin up with a finger. "Kitty, I know you love me and I love you and I can't say that if someone killed you or hurt you that I wouldn't go after them. But I hope that I would do that under the law, and not out of my own grief."

"Can you say for a fact you wouldn't?" Kitty prodded.

"No." Matt answered. "No, I can't say I wouldn't."

Kitty could tell the idea weighed heavily on him and decided it was time they left this topic of conversation alone. "Hey, Marshal." She grinned over at him. "What you say we not worry about what we might do and get on with what we can do, right now."

Matt arched a brow at her. "And just what do you have in mind?" He grinned.

"Oh, a little of this." She leaned over and kissed him. "And a little of that." She moved her hand down his frame.

Matt chuckled. "I like the way you think, Kitty Russell."

Kitty nodded with a smirk. "I thought you would. I love you, Cowboy."

Matt pulled her to him. "I love you too. And at the end of the day, that is all that matters."

END


End file.
